Sevilla manager Luis Garcia Plaza has strongly criticised the refereeing after his side’s 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid, arguing that Arda Guler should have been sent off following an alleged elbow on Peque during the first half.
The Sevilla coach believes the decision deprived his team of a fair opportunity to compete at the Santiago Bernabeu, insisting the match should have continued with Real Madrid down to ten men from around the 25th minute.
Although Garcia Plaza acknowledged that Real Madrid deserved to win with both teams at full strength, he questioned how the contest might have unfolded had the Turkish midfielder been dismissed.
Garcia Plaza claims Guler should have been sent off
The incident involving Guler and Peque became the central issue in Garcia Plaza’s post-match assessment.
The Sevilla forward appealed after being struck while the two players were running towards goal, but the referee did not send off the Real Madrid midfielder.
Garcia Plaza made his anger clear when addressing the media, arguing that the decision changed the conditions under which his team had to compete.
“I hope you all run the headline ‘An elbow and that was that’. Eleven against eleven, they deserved to win, but they’ve robbed us of the chance to play another match.
“From the 25th minute onwards, we should have been playing eleven against ten. They’re even cutting me off – it’s a right mess (he couldn’t be heard).
Sevilla manager feels Arda Guler should have been sent off. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
“Peque was shouting, ‘He’s hit me, he’s hit me!’ It’s a red card,” said the Sevilla coach.
The manager’s argument was not that Sevilla would necessarily have won, but that the team deserved the opportunity to contest the remaining 65 minutes with a numerical advantage and the score still at 0-0.
Sevilla boss questions second goal and El Clasico suggestion
Garcia Plaza also believed Sevilla should have been awarded a foul on Ure before Real Madrid scored their second goal.
He distinguished that incident from the Guler controversy, making clear that he did not consider the challenge a red-card offence.
“It’s true that there was a foul on Ure for the second goal; it wasn’t a red card offence, but it was a foul. I’ve been told it wasn’t shown on TV, but it was very clear.
“We might not have won, but we had to play from the 25th minute onwards with the score at 0–0, eleven against ten.
“For 65 minutes. That sums up the match. We might have lost anyway, but 11 against 11, Madrid deserved to win.
Luis Garcia Plaza was not happy with the refereeing decision. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
“Against Alaves, I lost whilst playing against 10 men. But there’s another side to the match that isn’t visible. We were supposed to capitalise on our numerical advantage, and it didn’t happen.
“Why did that happen? Perhaps they didn’t want the gap to widen any further ahead of El Clásico if we’d won – I don’t know,” he added.
The suggestion that the decision could have been influenced by the prospect of the upcoming El Clasico was Garcia Plaza’s speculation, rather than an established explanation for the referee’s actions.
Garcia Plaza reflects on Sevilla’s defeat
The loss marked Sevilla’s third defeat of the season, with all three coming against major opponents.
Garcia Plaza felt the disputed incidents affected his team’s response, particularly after Real Madrid scored their second goal.
“We fell apart a bit after the second goal, perhaps because of those incidents.
“But the truth is that the first one was a 100 per cent VAR decision, very clear,” he concluded.
Source: AS